The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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44 ■ THE WOLFPACKER boro would go on to earn a scholarship play- ing basketball. She would also end up making a profes- sional career for herself playing basketball de- spite the fact that no such opportunity existed for women when she was growing up. And after leading the Wolfpack to its first- ever Final Four appearance, she certainly put NC State on the map in women's basketball. 'Be Where Your Feet Are' What happens when you achieve every goal you set for yourself? When you're Chasity Melvin, you just make new ones. Basketball took Melvin around the globe following her playing career at NC State. To stay in shape between WNBA seasons, Mel- vin would play overseas. She won champion- ships in multiple countries, including Italy, Spain, Poland and, her personal favorite, Is- rael. Over her 12-year career in the WNBA, she averaged 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. In 2001, she was named a WNBA All- Star as a member of the Cleveland Rockers. Her favorite part of it all, however, is sim- ply getting to say she lived her dream. "A lot of people have dreams and never get to reach them," she said. "For me to have a dream at such an early age and to stay fo- cused and reach my dream, that was really my favorite part." Following her playing career, she spent several years working as an ambassador for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Coaching still wasn't on her mind. For her, it was a way to work in spirit with Yow, who she considered a second mother or her "bas- ketball mom." "I had always said I would come back and coach for Coach Kay Yow," Melvin said. "I always told people that I would always come back to NC State. Whatever Coach Yow needed from me, I would have done it in a heartbeat. "Unfortunately, by the time I finished my career, Coach Yow had passed, so I didn't have that opportunity." Melvin and Yow had remained in touch throughout her professional playing career. For Melvin, Yow's passing was a challenging time in her life. "I remember I came home when she was really sick," Melvin said. "I got to see her the night before she passed away. I remember sneaking into the hospital. Only family was allowed, but I snuck in the hospital. "She was still the same Coach Yow, con- cerned about me, what I was doing, what team I was going to and all sorts of things. She's very instrumental in my life — not just mine, many lives." After remaining engaged in basketball ac- tivities on the side while working for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, Melvin was accepted to the NBA's assistant coaches program. That quickly opened the door to her first professional coaching opportunity. She be- came the first female coach in the history of the Charlotte Hornets organization, when she joined the staff of the franchise's G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. A head coaching change made her a free agent after a year, but it didn't take long for her to find a landing spot. She accepted a spot on the staff at Loyola University Maryland, her first coaching op- portunity at the college level. Then, the pan- demic paused all sports, and she was left back at square one. A few months later, she received a call from the Mercury, asking if she would be interested in going to the bubble to join the coaching staff. She agreed, a decision that led to a crash course on the ins and outs of coaching in the WNBA ranks. With Melvin's quick rise, don't be sur- prised to see her take over as a head coach someday in the near future. But for now, she hears the voice of her late college basketball coach, keeping her grounded and focused on being the best she can be in her current role. "Coach Yow told me a long time ago, 'Be where your feet are,'" Melvin explained. "At the end of the day, I've always done that. I've always been great where I was or tried to be the best at where I was. "Right now, I'm with the Phoenix Mercury as an assistant coach, and I want to be the best assistant coach that I can possibly be, supporting my head coach. But I always have dreams and goals. I don't think you're living if you don't have some type of dreams or goals, whether they're small or big. "Obviously, head coach is something I could see for myself in the future. But I also could see myself as an assistant GM or gen- eral manager of a professional team. I came from Roseboro, so there ain't really nothing I shy away from." ■ The Phoenix Mercury are 39- 28 overall since Melvin, who played professionally for 12 years, joined the coaching staff in 2020. Phoenix reached the WNBA Finals last season. PHOTO COURTESY PHOENIX MERCURY CHASITY MELVIN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (1994-98) Age: 45 Living: Phoenix Occupation: Phoenix Mercury assistant coach Did You Know? In the Pack's 1998 Final Four appearance, Melvin set a record for most points scored (37) in an NCAA semifi- nal game. The mark stood until 2010.